It is always useful to think badly about people one has exploited or plans to exploit... No one likes to think of him or herself as a bad person. To treat badly another person whom we consider a reasonable human being creates a tension between act and attitude that demands resolution. We cannot erase what we have done, and to alter our future behavior may not be in our interest. To change our attitude is easier.
James W. LoewenThere's no excuse therefore, for a 1,152 page book. I think we should all be using 300-page paperbacks. These exist.
James W. LoewenNative Americans are not and must not be props in a sort of theme park of the past, where we go to have a good time and see exotic cultures. โWhat we have done to the peoples who were living in North Americaโ is, according to anthropologist Sol Tax, โour Original Sin.
James W. LoewenTaking ideas seriously does not fit with the rhetorical style of textbooks, which presents events so as to make them seem foreordained along a line of constant progress. Including ideas would make history contingent: things could go either way, and have on occasion. The 'right' people, armed with the 'right' ideas, have not always won. When they didn't, the authors would be in the embarrassing position of having to disapprove of an outcome in the past. Including ideas would introduce uncertainty. This is not textbook style.
James W. Loewen